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There were reasonable grounds for believing that he was not guilty of such offence and that he won’t commit any offence while on bail. Such was held by The Hon’ble High Court of Sikkim before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan in the matter of Pratik Biswakarma Vs. State of Sikkim [BA No. 12 of 2021]. 

The facts of the case were associated with an application filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. It was reported that the applicant Pratik Biswakarma was arrested because of an FIR, as controllable substances were found in the vehicle where he and five others travelled. It was stated by the applicant that five bail appeals were rejected by the Special Judge on various grounds. The Counsel representing the applicant stated that the applicant was a young man of 23 years and thereby should be granted bail. The Public Prosecutor stated that no materials were found that would prove his innocence. The prosecution against the applicant was under section 9(1) (c) and 9(4) of Sikkim Anti Drugs Act, 2006 and section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The Prosecutor was against the bail and filed a reply for the same. The PP stated that the applicant cannot be granted any bail unless there were reasonable grounds for believing that he was not guilty of such an offence and that the Court was satisfied with the same. 

After considering all the submissions, The Hon’ble Court stated that “This court has examined the records of the case and it is of the firm view that there are no reasonable grounds for believing that the applicant is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. The application for bail is accordingly rejected.”

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Judgment reviewed by Bipasha Kundu